Tyriq Withers found his debut film Him ‘cathartic experience’

Tyriq Withers found his debut film Him “a cathartic experience”.

The 27-year-old actor, who plays rising American football star Cameron Cade in the new psychological thriller, said the story’s themes of loss and transformation resonated deeply with his own life, adding it helped him explore grief, both personal and professional.

Speaking to NME the actor said: “I’d say this movie is about grief, but grief isn’t just about losing a person, it can be about losing your former self.

“There’s a big part of my life where I’ve been grieving sports because for a lot of my childhood, that was how I placed value on myself: Did I make the team? Am I scoring goals?”

Him, directed by Justin Tipping, who is best known for The Chi and Dear White People, follows Cade, a gifted young quarterback whose career and identity spiral after a violent on-field attack.

The film is produced by Jordan Peele, the filmmaker behind Get Out and Us, and also stars Julia Fox as a Lady Gaga-like influencer named Elsie White.

Tariq said the film’s exploration of ambition and trauma reflected his own journey from sports to acting.

A former varsity-level soccer player, he joined Florida State University’s American football squad as a wide receiver before discovering theatre through the school’s Black Student Union.

He said: “I felt a part of my soul yearning for a more human experience.”

For Him, the actor endured two-hour gym sessions and a strict diet of five chicken meals a day to perfect the physicality of a professional athlete.

He added: “Me throwing a football in the beginning (of training) – it looks nothing like what you see in the film.”

But beneath the preparation, the role also reopened painful memories.

He said: “I do miss Florida.

“But it’s harder to go back because I lost my older brother and there’s memories there.”

Tariq’s brother, Kionte, died in a car crash in 2021.

He said: “I can’t watch certain cartoons (from childhood) because they invoke such a good but hurting feeling.”

The actor also shared what he called a “pinch-me” moment – meeting Tyler, The Creator backstage after a show – and spoke fondly of Julia Fox’s performance in Him.

He joked: “I want to be Julia Fox when I grow up.”